JDM Ultralight Spinning Reel..... and rod?

How small is your rod and how light is your line? It's not about the size of your tackle, but how you work it. Come share your Ultralight and Bait Finesse System (BFS) fishing success here!
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JTK37
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JDM Ultralight Spinning Reel..... and rod?

Post by JTK37 » Wed Oct 26, 2022 7:04 am

Hey everybody, I've been really enjoying ultralight gear/fishing for the last two seasons. I rarely pull out my "heavy" stuff(medium, medium heaving casting and spinning) equipment anymore.

I've taken a deep dive into BFS and accumulated a number of JDM reels. From XUL to Light these have covered my needs and been a ton of fun throwing lures down to 1g pretty comfortably.

What I've struggled with is finding the equivalent to that feel/quality in a spinning reel and rod combo. For the reels I've got Pflueger President and President XT 2000s(really 1000 size), Kastking Zephyr SFS and Kestrel Elite SFS(they're actually great down to 1/16oz or so). I'd like to get something that offers the JDM feel/quality and performs better than what I have. The smaller and lighter the better- this is a reel I'd probably use primarily for trout and panfish, lots of trout magnets and sub 3g lures.

The lightest rod I have is a Tsurinoya Teton Electric Shock rated down to .3g, honestly I'm not a huge fan, it struggles with the trout magnet(oddly the casting version seems to handle it better). I have more success with the relatively cheap Bass Pro PTC and Micro light rated to 1/64" and only 4'6" when it comes to the 1g lures.

What would this group recommend for both a rod and reel to fit the needs?

Thanks

Alphahawk
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Re: JDM Ultralight Spinning Reel..... and rod?

Post by Alphahawk » Thu Oct 27, 2022 5:30 am

JTK37 wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 7:04 am
Hey everybody, I've been really enjoying ultralight gear/fishing for the last two seasons. I rarely pull out my "heavy" stuff(medium, medium heaving casting and spinning) equipment anymore.

I've taken a deep dive into BFS and accumulated a number of JDM reels. From XUL to Light these have covered my needs and been a ton of fun throwing lures down to 1g pretty comfortably.

What I've struggled with is finding the equivalent to that feel/quality in a spinning reel and rod combo. For the reels I've got Pflueger President and President XT 2000s(really 1000 size), Kastking Zephyr SFS and Kestrel Elite SFS(they're actually great down to 1/16oz or so). I'd like to get something that offers the JDM feel/quality and performs better than what I have. The smaller and lighter the better- this is a reel I'd probably use primarily for trout and panfish, lots of trout magnets and sub 3g lures.

The lightest rod I have is a Tsurinoya Teton Electric Shock rated down to .3g, honestly I'm not a huge fan, it struggles with the trout magnet(oddly the casting version seems to handle it better). I have more success with the relatively cheap Bass Pro PTC and Micro light rated to 1/64" and only 4'6" when it comes to the 1g lures.

What would this group recommend for both a rod and reel to fit the needs?

Thanks
Budget?


Regards

JTK37
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Re: JDM Ultralight Spinning Reel..... and rod?

Post by JTK37 » Thu Oct 27, 2022 8:16 am

Alphahawk wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 5:30 am
JTK37 wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 7:04 am
Budget?


Regards


If I know its going to perform better than the equipment I have(accuracy, distance), and offer a more premium feel I'm pretty open.

I was expecting $200-300 for the reel, and probably the same for the rod. Though if what I'm looking for is below that no reason not to save or pick up 2 different combos.

I was looking at the Daiwa Iprimi(JDM but made in Vietnam?) rod last night as well as some of the Presso models, but its tough to find reviews or anything beyond the specs, and then there is the question of who has stock. I also could be going down the wrong path by looking at the "Area" trout rods- but that seems to fit my lure weight range best

Alphahawk
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Re: JDM Ultralight Spinning Reel..... and rod?

Post by Alphahawk » Thu Oct 27, 2022 8:30 am

JTK37 wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 8:16 am
Alphahawk wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 5:30 am
JTK37 wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 7:04 am
Budget?


Regards


If I know its going to perform better than the equipment I have(accuracy, distance), and offer a more premium feel I'm pretty open.

I was expecting $200-300 for the reel, and probably the same for the rod. Though if what I'm looking for is below that no reason not to save or pick up 2 different combos.

I was looking at the Daiwa Iprimi(JDM but made in Vietnam?) rod last night as well as some of the Presso models, but its tough to find reviews or anything beyond the specs, and then there is the question of who has stock. I also could be going down the wrong path by looking at the "Area" trout rods- but that seems to fit my lure weight range best
I have a YouTube channel that speaks to JDM UL gear.....TroutMagnetMan. You may be able to get some ideas there. The Iprimi..while a good rod...is not sensitive as compared to other rods. The Presso reel is nice..I own one...but I just got 2 of the new Abu Garcia Zenon reels and while it is made in China it is a quality reel at a great piece at Amazon for $235 for the 1000S and $218 for the 2000SH model. The problem with rods...and some reels....is sourcing them. Just hard to find many rod in stock now.


Regards

JTK37
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Re: JDM Ultralight Spinning Reel..... and rod?

Post by JTK37 » Fri Nov 04, 2022 8:36 am

Alphahawk wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 8:30 am
JTK37 wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 8:16 am
Alphahawk wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 5:30 am
JTK37 wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 7:04 am
Budget?


Regards


If I know its going to perform better than the equipment I have(accuracy, distance), and offer a more premium feel I'm pretty open.

I was expecting $200-300 for the reel, and probably the same for the rod. Though if what I'm looking for is below that no reason not to save or pick up 2 different combos.

I was looking at the Daiwa Iprimi(JDM but made in Vietnam?) rod last night as well as some of the Presso models, but its tough to find reviews or anything beyond the specs, and then there is the question of who has stock. I also could be going down the wrong path by looking at the "Area" trout rods- but that seems to fit my lure weight range best
I have a YouTube channel that speaks to JDM UL gear.....TroutMagnetMan. You may be able to get some ideas there. The Iprimi..while a good rod...is not sensitive as compared to other rods. The Presso reel is nice..I own one...but I just got 2 of the new Abu Garcia Zenon reels and while it is made in China it is a quality reel at a great piece at Amazon for $235 for the 1000S and $218 for the 2000SH model. The problem with rods...and some reels....is sourcing them. Just hard to find many rod in stock now.


Regards

Alphahawk- thank you!!!! I've been watching and learning a lot. My Presso came yesterday and the Zenon is due next week. I went with the Iprimi for now, still need to pick up two more rods, so many options

mrpao
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Re: JDM Ultralight Spinning Reel..... and rod?

Post by mrpao » Mon Nov 07, 2022 1:25 pm

I have a Palms 6'2" ultralight for sale in the Classifieds section under JDM trout rods.
It might interest you. It's an area trout rod.

ras
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Re: JDM Ultralight Spinning Reel..... and rod?

Post by ras » Mon Nov 07, 2022 9:19 pm

With dollar surging against yen, you have an absolutely tremendous choice of JDM rods and reels in that price range. I'd recommended picking up one of the 1000-C2000 Vanquish models – just a bit over $300 mark these days and a remarkable buy for that money. Around the same price would be Luvias Airity, if you can find it.
With rods, the choice is simply overwhelming. There is a myriad of excellent mebaru and many area rods in that price range that would fit your needs, depending on your preference in action and behavior with fish on. I and, surely, others will be happy to throw in a few options if you give more details. If you're looking to pick up something very specialized, I'd consider a variety of trout area rods tuned for soft lures. Japanese anglers don't use them much, but build corresponding models for Europeans. Models from ValkeIN, Nories brands come to mind.

JTK37
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Re: JDM Ultralight Spinning Reel..... and rod?

Post by JTK37 » Tue Nov 15, 2022 11:10 am

So far I've added the following to the collection

Diawa Presso 1000
Abu Garcia Zenon 1000(delivers today so I haven't fished it)

My main target with these is small wild trout streams in NJ. They're typically tight, rocky, mostly pocket water with a decent size pool here and there. I'm fishing almost exclusively micro plastics(Trout magnets and slayers, Zman Micro finesse). 2# mono, fish are generally 6-10" with the occasional

I did pick up an Iprimi XUL which casts the 1g TM great, accurate, distance when I need it and finesse when needed. However its certainly lacking the back bone and some of the hooksets have been missing.

I wanted to grab an Abu Garcia Diplomat but can't find one in stock.

So the search for the ideal rod that can load when casting a 1g weight, but still has the back bone to set the hook continues

ssbmg
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Re: JDM Ultralight Spinning Reel..... and rod?

Post by ssbmg » Mon Jan 30, 2023 11:28 am

I've got the G Loomis GLX TSR791S one piece for exactly your application paired with a Vanford 1000. At 6'7" it's just long enough to get decent casting distance when needed. Backbone is not bad as I've landed multiple 20"+ stream/river browns and rainbows (an absolute blast on this rod). In terms of sensitivity I can't imagine getting much better. I exclusively cast 1/32oz and 1/16oz lures with this combo. I'm much more stressed out about my line breaking than losing a trophy because of this rod. I typically use 6lb Sufix 832 braid to a 5lb FC leader. I just respooled to 0.6 PE YGK Upgrade which has a much thinner line diameter so I hope to get better casting distance as I'm heading to a slightly larger river this weekend.

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